The Blind Person Rule

One of the things I try to enforce in our household is to not have anything on the floor where someone – mostly likely, me – might trip over it at night, when the lights are out. Makes sense, right?

I have tried to apply that rule to my sidewalk and walkways. No unnecessary debris, such as branches. It is obvious, however, that not everyone shares my zeal.

I may have told this story before, but, years later, it still irritates me. Sometime in the past decade, a blind man was walking across Madison Avenue in Albany from the corner nearest the police station to the corner where the Bruegger’s bagel shop was/is located. He was doing fine until he almost walked into a car that had totally blocked the crosswalk. The driver of the car, as you might guess, was inside the Bruegger’s picking up some food. I’m sure he was thinking, “I’ll only be a minute.” But it was disruptive to the pedestrian, who felt his way around the car and finally made his way to the sidewalk. And it was frustrating to me, who was far enough up North Allen that I could not help him, or even yell to him coherently.

Worse, there was a real parking spot about three car lengths away; moving there was obviously too onerous for the driver to do. Unfortunately, he drove away before either seeing the disruption he had caused or before I could reach him to (probably unkindly) inform him of his bête noire.

I also get peeved when one of my neighbors parks his car so that it totally blocks the sidewalk, forcing one to either walk in the street or squeeze between this car and the other car in the driveway. This has happened more than once. This situation could have avoided if the first car in the driveway had pulled in farther. The problem is amplified when there are snowbanks on the grass, especially when trying to use a shopping cart. This is frustrating for a sighted person; imagine how much more frustrating it would be to one who is not.

So keep your walkways free of debris, ice, snow, and vehicles. That includes bicycles, such as the one I saw lying in the middle of the sidewalk in front of a food establishment on Lark Street recently. Think about how you would fare there if you could not see.

Roger Green

5 Responses

Bravo for Tim O’Brien. I see this happening almost daily. I might add that people who park their cars directly in front of bank doorways in shopping centers are as ignorant as the drivers who stop their cars halfway across the white walkway stop lines at intersections. LET’S START WALKING THROUGH THEIR CARS INSTEAD OF AROUND THEM. How about the don’t scratch my new truck people who park diagonally across two parking spaces? Don’t forget the run-in, run-out shoppers who park their vehicles just about anywhere next to the curb with their flashers on, as if this gives them the right to do so. Then there are the idiots who have their car radios so loud as they drive through the parking lots, you can hear it inside the store. Lastly, do you ever hear the panic signals blaring when someone can’t find their car and don’t shut it off until they are ready to enter the car, even though they have already spotted the car? How ’bout being considerate of other people for a change?

Next time walk over the car. Wasn’t there a commercial showing that years ago?
I agree that often enough stuff is left on sidewalks that doesn’t belong there, including cars or motorcycles. But also worth noting is the horrible state in which many sidewalks are. In most cities it is the homeowner’s responsibility to fix and maintain the sidewalk in front of the property, but I bet many don’t know that. The result is cracked and buckled sidewalks that make even non-handicapped people trip. Then again, since rebar seems to be a foreign concept to contractors around here it is no real surprise.

Reminds me of a photo I saw of a BMW parked in front of a fire hydrant. There was also a large fire hose going through the car’s side windows (broken?) from the fire hydrant to a fire truck parked in the street next to the BMW.

Let’s not forget all the people who will park in a Handycap spot because it is convienent and they are ‘only going into the store for a minute’. I also have a issue with ‘parking lot vultures’ who will circle the lot until a spot close enough for them opens up. I have had people follow me when I leave a mall and then get irate when they learn that I am only bringing packages out to the car and going back into the store.